A Fall Garden

"For the beauty of the earth......."

Yes, those are watermelons!

Beautiful zinnias!

"Healthy Version" 2

Here's another healthy recipe of chocolate chip cookies to try!
This recipes new twists are peanut butter, dark chocolate, and honey.
The honey in these cookies gives them a tender, chewy texture.


Whole Wheat Chocolate Peanut Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. melted butter
1c. honey
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. oats
6 oz. chocolate chips or 3.53 oz. bar of dark chocolate, chopped (we put about 2/3 of the bar into the cookies, but you could use the whole thing if you like a lot of chocolate in your cookies)


Mix all ingredients together and place them by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cookies will still be soft when done.

Another idea: Sucanat is a unrefined natural sugar that would probably be a good substitute for the sugars in this recipe. We didn't have any on hand so I couldn't use it in the cookies but you can find it at health food stores.

I'm Such A City Slicker

When harvesting my leaf lettuce I have always pulled up the plant and cut the root stem off and tossed it into the compost simply because I hated to leave the chopped off stub in my lovely garden bed. Lately I've tried leaving the stalk in the ground. I noticed the other day new leaves started to grow from the old stalk. Yeah! More lettuce less work.

How do you harvest your lettuce- just the leaves or the whole head?

"Healthy Version" 1

Who doesn't enjoy a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie? Here's a recipe that uses whole wheat flour instead of refined white flour. My sister Hannah made these yesterday and they were delicious.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 cup oats
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine softened butter and sugars. Beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla, mixing together well. Next add in flour, salt, soda, and oats. Lastly fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.


Chocolate chip cookies with dark chocolate coming up so stay tuned!

Monday Meditation

This helps me put the week into perspective

Fun with Play Doh

Earlier this week my brothers and I made some play doh.
This is one of the best recipes I have ever used. I used peppermint oil instead of wintergreen.

Play Doh:
1 c. flour 1 c. water
1/2 c. salt Food coloring
2 tsp. cream of tartar Oil of wintergreen (optional)
1 Tbsp. cooking oil

Combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook about 3 minutes or until mixture becomes lumpy and forms a ball. Empty onto cookie sheet and knead until smooth. Cool and store in an airtight container.


Note: This play doh is for a one time use only. I tried storing it in a plastic container but a few days later when I checked it mold had taken over!

~Enjoy~